CHAPTER XV.
AMONG THE WIGAN OPERATIVES "There'll be some on us missin', aw deawt, Iv there isn't some help for us soon." -- SAMUEL LAYCOCK.
The next scene of my observations is the town of Wigan.

The temporary troubles now affecting the working people of Lancashire wear a different aspect there on account of such a large proportion of the population being employed in the coal mines.

The "way of life" and the characteristics of the people are marked by strong peculiarities.

But, apart from these things, Wigan is an interesting place.

The towns of Lancashire have undergone so much change during the last fifty years that their old features are mostly either swept away entirely, or are drowned in a great overgrowth of modern buildings.